Why one counting method saved GE from a nine-figure withdrawal liability
GE dodges a $227 million pension hit at the Eighth Circuit. The win turns on how you count construction workers.
On May 26, 2026, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed an arbitrator's ruling that General Electric qualified for the building and construction industry exemption from withdrawal liability under the Employment Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, the federal law governing private pension plans.
The Boilermaker-Blacksmith National Pension Trust, a multiemployer plan covering primarily employees in the building and construction industry, had assessed GE on two fronts. The first, approximately $205 million, was based on a 70% decline in contribution base units across three consecutive years. The second, $22 million, was tied to GE's closure of a manufacturing facility in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
GE argued it fit within the building and construction industry exception, known as the BCI. The carve-out exempts an employer from withdrawal liability when "substantially all" of its covered workers perform building and construction work. The parties stipulated that "substantially all" means 85%.
The whole dispute came down to one question: how do you count the workers?
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